Not to be a "beer snob"--but you should try some real Belgian Wit Beers or German Hefeweizens. Blue Moon is brewed by Coor's, and if you like it you will really like the real thing. Also, many American Micro-breweries make their own versions of these style beers--especially in the summer. If you have any stores where you live that sell micro-brews you should have no problem finding them...

I highly recommend trying the real thing...Coors does well enough on its own, and the small breweries in Europe and the U.S. need our support!!

"Does the fact that BM is brewed by Coors imply something about its quality or bona fides as a witbier?"

For me being brewed by Coors does not automatically discount it. Its more the fact that they use malted wheat instead of unmalted wheat which is a traditional ingredient in wits and overspice the heck out it making it very cloying. I've read that some Belgian brewers remark that alot of Belgian sytles brewed in the US are just caricatures of Belgian beers - and in this case, I agree with them.

I agree with the Allagash and Celis recs even though Allagash white has been very inconsistent in the past year or so. It has ranged from dry and thin to sweet and worty, and recently its just been overly spiced with coriander.

"I've read that some Belgian brewers remark that alot of Belgian sytles brewed in the US are just caricatures of Belgian beers - and in this case, I agree with them."An american IIPA is nothing like the non-existant British version before the craft brew explosion. I feel it is more important that Blue Moon gets people out of their normal comfort zone, trying something different, possibly for the first time!

For me, it's the weak wheat character and the lager-y finish that say something about Blue Moon's quality and bona-fides. There's no reason Coors can't make a really appealing wheat beer. IMO, they just don't. It's not horrible or anything, especially for the price, but for another buck or two per sixpack -- 33 cents more per bottle -- I can get something I find much yummier.

My favorite witbier brewed in the states (apart from Brooklyn Breweries Blanche de Brooklyn, which I can't get out here) is Avery's White Rascal. I actually think it's a better beer than Hoegaarden. Another great one is Hitachino Nest's White Ale. (Blanche de Brooklyn actually beat out Hoegaarden to take gold at one of the World Beer Cups)

While I do agree that most American attempt at Belgians come out like caricatures, there are some styles that are workable. Witbier is one, saison is another. Ommegang's Hennepin is quite a tasty saison. There's a San Diego brewery named Pizza Port, and one of their brewers is a huge fan of saisons - he has made some very interesting saison beers that are every bit as good as the real thing.

Also, it's a little strange to read about adding lemon and orange slices to your beers. That was traditionally done to compensate for beer that was past its prime, to hide off flavors. Any modern beer that is fresh shouldn't need such accoutrements.

You're speaking of Tomme Arthur at Pizza Port, which incidentally, just took over the brewery that Stone left behind when it expanded. Tomme does some shockingl original Belgian-inspired beers, as does Vinnie Cilurzo at Russian River.

I would have to guess Coors thought up the orange garnish. Stuff like that plays well in bars.

I enjoy Ommegang's Three Philosophers, which is somewhat unique in that it contains a small portion of another brewery's beer (Lindemans Kriek). I think that's a very Belgian thing to do.

I'm glad they took over Stone's operation - that means I can get Sharkbite Red at the grocery store. I'm looking forward to some more bottles from them. I don't always like their stuff, but Tomme's saisons are really great (the SPF series).

When I was a food/beer writer I interviewed Vinnie a few different times. Very nice guy, and an amazing brewer. I keep waiting for his Depuration to come out - it's a Belgian aged with grapes. He's been telling me about it for over a year now and still have seen no sign of it. He assures me it will be amazing, and I have no reason to doubt him.

Like I said...it would never happen in Germany..adding citrus to your beer! I enjoyed it though with the Blue Moon...of course, it was after a day of white water rafting (big rapids) on the middle fork of the American River. Maybe it tasted way better that day.

Orange makes some sense for BM (although I've never heard of any other witbier producer recommending a garnish) since it's made with orange peel. I assume this place serves Widmer with lemon and BM w/nothing?

Well we've only ordered Blue Moon a couple times and I don't recall any fruits with it. As for the Hefeweisen (is this the same as Widmer?) it's always served with about 6 lemons floating in it (that is, when ordering a pitcher).

I just had Pizza port's(solana beach CA) Hefewiezen and i was shocked how good it was. Inormally stay away from American wheats becuase they do not have the right taste that you get from the european yeasts. The pizza port version was very good and i got the same banana/clove tastes you normally only find in a european beer. Pizzaport consistently makes great beer and this is a another winner.

The only other American Hefeweizen i had that tasted "right" was the El Jefe Hefeweizen from Bardo's in Alexandria VA

Funny - I like American wheat beer quite a bit, and prefer it over the German style. I'm not a huge fan of the banana/clove flavors in German hefeweizen.

I don't know that I'd say the German taste is the "right" taste - wheat beers are made all over the world and they can vary quite a bit in terms of flavor. I love a really good American wheat - clean, crisp, with a hint of sweetness. Yum.

To each their own but American wheat beers just dont do it for me. The ones i have had lack character to me. While the american wheat beer is a distinct style, the ones that label them selves hefeweizens, weisse, etc. need to be held up to their german counterparts. During the summer, nothing is better than a Bavarian hefeweizen, i am really happy i found pizza ports version.